CSBE: A Place for Evolutionary Synthesis in North Carolina's Research Triangle

尽管经过200多年的科学探索，生物进化的基本问题仍未得到解答。物种形成是如何发生的？基因组和环境因素如何塑造新的突变变异输入到进化过程中？要回答这些和其他主要问题，需要综合有关基因组序列、基因表达、生态学、进化史和种群遗传过程的知识。这个知识库是如此广泛，以至于实现综合需要来自广泛学科的科学家的共同努力，这些科学家配备了尖端的信息管理和分析工具。生物进化综合中心（CSBE）的主要任务是通过汇集研究人员、教育工作者、现有数据和信息技术资源，促进生物进化综合研究。为了实现其目标，CSBE将开发新的工具和跨学科标准，用于管理生物信息和元信息，支持具有广泛用途的数据分析能力，以及托管和管理数据库。此外，本会亦会支持教育及外展活动，以加深公众对生物进化科学的认识；促进进化生物学家、工业界和非政府组织之间的相互作用；并加强代表性不足的群体成员在进化研究中的参与。因此，生物进化合成中心（CSBE）将成为研究、教育和推广的全国重点。

Despite over 200 years of scientific inquiry, fundamental questions in biological evolution remain unanswered. How does speciation happen? How do genomic and environmental factors shape the input of new mutational variation into the evolutionary process? To answer these and other major questions requires synthesizing knowledge about genomic sequences, gene expression, ecology, evolutionary history, and population-genetic processes of phylogenetically diverse organisms. This knowledge base is so broad that achieving synthesis requires the combined efforts of scientists from a wide array of disciplines equipped with cutting-edge information management and analysis tools. The primary mission of the Center for Synthesis in Biological Evolution (CSBE) is to facilitate synthesis in biological evolution by bringing together researchers and educators, extant data and information technology resources. To achieve its goals, CSBE will develop new tools and cross-disciplinary standards for management of biological information and meta-information, support data analysis capabilities with broad utility, and host and curate databases. CSBE will also support education and outreach activities to enhance public understanding of the science of biological evolution; foster interactions between evolutionary biologists, industry and non-governmental organizations; and enhance the participation of members of underrepresented groups in the study of evolution. The Center for Synthesis in Biological Evolution (CSBE) will thus serve as a national focus for research, education and outreach.